The Rural Electric Youth Tour provides high school students whose homes are served by rural electric cooperatives the opportunity for a weeklong trip to our nation's capital. Pennsylvania and New Jersey Youth Tour participants will see Washington, D.C., meet with congressmen from their state, tour national monuments and memorials, and visit the National Zoo and the Smithsonian museums. In addition to all of these wonderful experiences, students make lifelong friends with students from all across the United States while learning about the importance of rural electrification.

Students who participate in Youth Tour are eligible to interview for selection as the Pennsylvania/New Jersey Outstanding Youth Tour Student of the Year. The outstanding student automatically becomes a member of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Youth Leadership Council (YLC). Created in 1976 to emphasize the development of strong, young leaders, YLC members attend a series of educational workshops that cover topics such as the cooperative business model, community service and careers in public service.